SMART Goal Measurements Become Performance Review Facts

When it comes time to write our performance review, where do we get our facts about our performance? In my opinion, it comes from the Measurable part of the SMART Goal. If we don’t have the measures set up correctly for the SMART Goal, we won’t have the ability to show our performance to management.

Measurements measure your performance

When we all sit down at the beginning of the year and determine our SMART Goals, we often don’t understand the relationship of the goals then to our performance review later. Later, when we are hunting for ways to prove our performance, we find that if the measurements in the SMART goals were not set up correctly, we can’t argue our case.

And, since we don’t have facts about our performance, we fight management perceptions with our perceptions — and lose.

Measure your performance

The biggest problem with most goal measurements is this: the measurement does not measure your performance. It measures the team performance. Or the department performance. Or the project performance.

But not yours.

This is the critical negotiation point about your goals between you and your manager. If each person can measure their own performance on the team, it’s pretty easy for a manager to figure out ratings. If the measurement simply measures the team attainment, you have a great method for rating the manager — but none of the manager’s direct reports. Like you.

Then you argue in the performance review about how much you contributed to the team’s performance. Or you end up talking about how you and the team get along so well instead of what you accomplished as part of the team.

Make sure you can measure your performance now

With the time for writing your self-assessment coming up (sooner than we think…), now is the time to ensure you can measure your performance. And if you can’t easily measure your accomplishments, you can expect to go through another performance review season with a lower performance rating, more frustration and giving up on the whole process.

Meanwhile, your Cubicle Warrior teammate will have measured his or her performance, shown your manager how he or she beat the goals and walks away with the higher rating — and pay.

About the Author

Scot Herrick is the author of “I’ve Landed My Dream Job–Now What???” and owner of Cube Rules, LLC. Scot has a long history of management and individual contribution in multiple Fortune 100 corporations.

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